MLB Adds Negro Leagues Stats to Official Record Books

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Facts

  • Major League Baseball (MLB) on Wednesday announced it has incorporated Negro Leagues statistics into the official MLB record books — adding more than 2.3K players to its official database and naming new all-time leaders in various statistical categories.1
  • This comes four years after MLB elevated the Negro Leagues to 'Major League' status and recognized the statistics and records of a total of 3.4K Black players who played in the segregated leagues between 1920 and 1948. As part of the research and documentation process, the 2.3K players are those who have had their records vetted and integrated into MLB statistics so far.2
  • MLB, which will add seven Negro Leagues to the official records, followed the recommendations of the independent Negro League Statistical Review Committee in absorbing the available numbers and records.3
  • This incorporation comes after a three-year research project to compile Negro Leagues records. Josh Gibson now holds many career and single-season records including career batting average (.372), slugging percentage (.718), and OPS (1.117), moving ahead of Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth.4
  • MLB said the Negro Leagues records are about 75% complete, and that more statistics could be added in the future should additional box scores be discovered and verified by MLB’s statistical partners. The new statistics will not come with asterisks.3
  • Professional baseball was segregated until Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in 1947. Researchers were able to find complete records for 95% of Negro Leagues games from the 1920s, but coverage waned during the Great Depression.5

Sources: 1NBC, 2CBS, 3MLB.com, 4Associated Press and 5ESPN.com.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by Los Angeles Times. This is a long-overdue correction of historical neglect. For decades, players who faced racism and inequities were deprived of the recognition they deserved and fans were limited in what they could learn about these players. This is a major part of celebrating the Negro Leagues and honoring the men who defined baseball of the era.
  • Narrative B, as provided by The Western Journal. MLB has gone too far in trying to celebrate the Negro Leagues' players' accomplishments. While modern politics push for overcorrections to past injustices, it's important to remember that we cannot rewrite history. Negro Leagues records should receive more recognition than they have in the past, but they shouldn't supplant official MLB records because each era and league has a specific historical context.

Predictions